SSNSocial Security Number
A nine-digit identification number issued by the Social Security Administration used for taxation, credit reporting, employment, and banking.
Statutory Authority / Agency: Social Security Administration (SSA)
Every spring, nearly everyone living in the US files taxes. The form names are foreign at first, but the structure is simpler than it looks — here is the map: what arrives when, what you file where, and where the free help is.
This guide is general information based on public guidance from the IRS and the California FTB. Income thresholds, credit amounts and dates change every year — verify the current figures on the official IRS and FTB sites before filing.
From your first paycheck, you are already paying taxes — that is the withholding taken out of each pay stub. The spring 'tax return' is not a fresh bill; it is a reconciliation of last year's withholding against what you actually owed. Paid too much through the year and you get a refund; too little and you pay the difference.
The return covers the previous calendar year, and filing season opens around late January and closes in mid-April (the exact date shifts slightly year to year). So your first year in the US gets filed the following spring.
Employers must send your W-2 by the end of January — the core document, summarizing last year's wages and withholding. It comes by mail or through the payroll site. Freelance or side income produces 1099-series forms instead. If you worked multiple jobs, each one sends its own — collect them all.
Remember the W-4 you filled out when starting the job? That is what set how much withholding comes out. If your first reconciliation ends in a large refund or a large bill, adjusting your W-4 changes how much lands in your pocket each month next year.
US filing is not a single return. One goes to the IRS (federal), and because California has its own income tax, another goes to the state's Franchise Tax Board (FTB). Most filing software and free services handle both together.
Filing requires an SSN or ITIN. If you have neither yet, there is a path to submit the ITIN application (Form W-7) together with your first return — the same ITIN from the bank guide gets created here.
Whatever you file with, this bundle is the same:
If a form has not arrived, do not just wait — ask the employer. If you moved, it likely went to the old address.
Paying is not a requirement of filing. IRS Free File gives you brand-name filing software at no cost if your income is under the threshold, and the California return can be filed free directly through the FTB's CalFile. The thresholds change every year — check each site for the current ones.
The one to know about is VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) — an IRS program where trained volunteers prepare returns for free, built precisely for people with moderate incomes or limited English, with many multilingual sites. It runs at libraries and community centers during tax season; the IRS site has a locator.
First-year filings often end in refunds. Withholding assumes you work the full year, so if you arrived mid-year, more was likely taken than you actually owed — and that money stays buried unless you file. This is why filing often pays even when your income was below the requirement to file.
If your income is low to moderate, look into the Earned Income Tax Credit — it exists federally (EITC) and in California (CalEITC), and can add substantially to a refund. Notably, California's version is open to ITIN filers. Eligibility and amounts change yearly; filing software or a VITA volunteer will check them for you.
Tax season is also scam season. One rule covers most of it: the IRS does not initiate contact by phone, text, or email demanding immediate payment. Official contact starts by mail. Calls threatening arrest or demanding payment by gift card are scams, and immigrants are targeted heavily.
And tax residency is a separate concept from immigration status. Depending on factors like time in the US, you are a resident or nonresident for tax purposes — nonresidents file a different form (1040-NR) — and this guide cannot make that determination for you. In your first year or with an unusual visa situation, having a VITA volunteer or a tax professional (CPA or EA) confirm your status before filing is the safest start.
Look up the full expansions and plain-language definitions of key abbreviations and legal terms used throughout our California guides.
A nine-digit identification number issued by the Social Security Administration used for taxation, credit reporting, employment, and banking.
A nine-digit tax processing number issued by the IRS for foreign nationals and residents who are not eligible for a Social Security Number.
The form employers must send by the end of January, summarizing last year's wages and withholding. The core input for filing — one arrives from each employer.
The form family reporting non-wage income such as freelance pay or interest. Unlike a W-2, often nothing was withheld — so tax may still be owed at reconciliation.
The agency for California's state income tax. The state return goes here, separate from the federal (IRS) one, and can be filed free directly through CalFile.
An IRS program where trained volunteers prepare returns for free, aimed at people with moderate incomes or limited English, with many multilingual sites. Runs at libraries and community centers during tax season.
A credit that boosts refunds for low-to-moderate income workers. Exists federally and in California — the California version is open to ITIN filers. Eligibility and amounts change yearly.